Our Family

The Owners

DogTown USA St Augustine, is owned and operated by George and Valerie Ely. George and Valerie are dog enthusiasts who have over 30 years of experience in luxury hospitality management, so you can rest assured your dog is in great hands.

George and Valerie are passionate supporters of St. Augustine Humane Society, Jacksonville Humane Society, Lab Rescue, Ayla’s Acres, Safe, Swamp Haven Rescue and other local rescue organization. They have supported their mission of rescue, adoption, treatment and education for over 20 years.

George and Valerie live in Ponte Vedra Beach with their two labs, a yellow lab named Annabella and a chocolate lab named BO. They look forward to meeting you and your pet(s). Please stop by for a tour or call for a reservation.

The Managers

Max and Tori are managers at Dogtown USA Saint Augustine. They have both worked and grown with Dogtown since early in its youth in 2012.They have helped bring about many new ideas to shape Dogtown in to what you know and love today. What was originally just a cool job working with dogs has turned into a serious passion for both of them.

Max leads the pack out in the playroom and can often be seen on top of the play equipment, singing to the adoring crowd of pups below and on stage with him! His favorite thing is being out in our playgroups socializing with the dogs. In his spare time he enjoys playing music and getting involved in any fixer upper projects he can find. When anything is broken at Dogtown he is the first person we all call to try to fix it and 9 times out of 10 he does just that. We wouldn’t be able to run as smoothly as we do without him fixing everything behind us!

The dogs know Tori around Dogtown for her awesome butt scratches. Tori has a degree in English and has a million things she wants to do, most of which involves dogs. She is confident she can blend her love of literature and her love of animals. She has plans to one day to write a children book series with the main characters being (you guessed it) dogs. She hopes to help showcase responsible adoption as well better understanding dogs as individuals, not just by their breed. Rescue work is her passion and she has many ideas she would love to implement in her own rescue. In her spare time she loves to read and roam around outdoors.

Max and Tori have two dogs and two cats: Izzy, Ladybug, Yeowly and Miriam. Both Izzy and Ladybug were adopted right off of Dogtown’s very own adoption wall and they truly couldn’t have asked for a better pair of pups. Tori and Max both foster dogs frequently for Swamp Haven rescue and take great pride in helping dogs grow as they search for their forever home.

Assistant Manager

Chelsea is the assistant manager at Dogtown USA St. Augustine. She started working at Dogtown right out of college, thinking it would be a pit stop on the road to her ten-year plan of working and eventually owning her own publishing company. Little did she know how much this job would impact her future, and inevitably change her plans from revolving around books to revolving around your furry loved ones. She understands that your pups are a part of your family, so she treats them like she treats her own furry kids. She has two cats, a bunny, and a dog, the apple of her eye: Earl the Pearl. Many of you might recognize Earl from our adoption wall, where Chelsea rescued him over two years ago. You can often find Earl helping his mom out at the trolley, where he jumps up to say hello, help check his furry friends in, and remind everyone where the treat bowl is.

Chelsea is an avid believer in adoption, and her passion for it has simply grown since her life was forever changed and she adopted Earl – because really, who rescued who? When she isn’t caring for your dogs in the kennel area or talking with customers at the trolley, you can find Chelsea and her partner in crime, and manager, Tori uniting numerous homeless dogs with their forever homes. They have created Dogtown’s very own adoption process and personally saved dogs from euthanasia in overcrowded shelters. Chelsea hopes to one day take this experience and knowledge and channel it into her own shelter, where she can help save the lives of those animals that can’t help themselves and are often overlooked in a world where homeless dogs have run rampant.